Tag Archives: hiking

Hobbiton Movie Set (New Zealand Day 5)

Today we visited the Hobbiton movie set just outside Matamata, used in the filming of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Covering 12 acres, this beautiful landscape includes Hobbit Holes, the Mill, Lake, Shire, Green Dragon Inn and more.

Hobbiton Set Building

This property is owned by the Alexander family, and remains a fully functional working farm, producing sheep’s wool and cattle meat/hides. In 1998, Peter Jackson, director of the movies, approached the Alexander’s requesting to use the land for filming, and after the contracts were signed, he embarked on a journey of detailing sets, starting with site construction in 1999. To build the small town, the New Zealand Army was actually asked to assist in building roads, transporting equipment, and filling in a large swamp area to transform it into a field. Although they were not paid, they were reimbursed by being offered fighting roles in the movies. Most of these men were so enthusiastic about the filming that Jackson had to request them to tone it down so it was not too violent for a family movie, and three men were hospitalized for fighting a bit too intensely!

Hobbit hole

Details Details Details

The level of detail that Jackson included into his set is incredible, and can be seen on the property:

Jackson did not think the sheep that came with the farm fit the time era they for shooting for, so he had the native sheep removed and imported sheep for filming.
The wooden beams of the hobbit holes were distressed using a chainsaw, soaked in vinegar and dried to make them look the appropriate ago. A mixture of glue, wood chips, and cement was also used to splatter on wood, giving it the appearance that it is naturally covered in lichens.
The orchard, which was originally comprised of plum trees in the book series, was not aesthetically appealing to Jackson, so he planted pear and apple trees instead. When it came time for filming, all the fruit and leaves were stripped off the trees, and artificial plums were attached to make the scene look comparable.
There is even a tree on top of the hill that is completely artificial. It is made of a steel trunk and branch frame, painted with weatherproof material to make it look and stay looking realistic. Additionally, individual leaves were attached all over the tree, and later all individually painted a different color.
There are also three hobbit holes built into the background hill of the valley, with the intention being solely just in case the camera accidentally paned and caught a glimpse of the background. All the work of altering the background landscape from its natural empty fields was shown for a grand total of three seconds throughout the film series.

Fake tree mentioned above

On Set

Our tour began by bus, traveling though the filming grounds, where our guides pointed out different sections. The first main section was a large fenced-in field, which use to house over 250 species of animals used throughout filming. A section to the right was used to store tech equipment, and now is used as the farm’s maintenance department. There was a field used solely for all hair and makeup, next to a small hill that was acted as the communication hub of the property.

Following the winding road, you end up in Hobbiton, where majority of the filming took place. We walked through town, learning that all of the hobbit holes were only used for external filming, while all inside scenes for filmed in the “Hobbit Mansion,” an indoor set in Wellington containing over 130 separate rooms. On property, there are multiple sizes of hobbit holes, some on a 30% scale to make characters look large, up to a 90% scale to make other characters appear small.

Stereotypical tourist photo at a hobbit hole

We walked though the pathways, garden, over the bridge of the lake, and into the Green Dragon Inn. This property serve four unique drinks, three alcoholic and one non-alcoholic, and can be found nowhere else in the world since they were created specifically for the movie set tours. The Green Dragon Inn is internationally and externally decorated and fully functional, even offering an area for private functions. The entire landscape of Hobbiton is extremely beautiful, encompassing the natural wonders of New Zealand, and enhancing them with movie set magic.

Iconic movie set sign

Lake and surrounding area

Woodlyn Park & Waitomo

After our tour of Hobbiton, we drove back to the Waitomo area, for our stay at Woodlyn Park. This theme hotel has a ship, plane, and hobbit hole themed rooms. We stayed in the “Waitanic” Ship Motel. Although it’s in the middle of nowhere and only a few rooms available, this iconic hotel has been recognized on TV and in media, and is well known for its unique appearance! We drove into the tiny town of Waitomo, a small village with not much more than a café, visitor’s center, hotel, restaurant, and bar. Waitomo is well known for its underground glowworm cave systems, where a lot of tourism happens, so the above ground areas are quite isolated. However, there are countless areas for nature-lovers and adventurers to explore. Essentially, Waitomo is more of an underground city!

Hobbiton themed rooms

Plane themed rooms

Ship themed rooms

Following a late lunch, we drove to the Ruakuri Bush Reserve, known for being one of the top ten short bushwalks in New Zealand. Upon arrival we definitely could understand why, as we had a fantastic time exploring the natural wonders of caves, waterfalls, a river, and many outlook points. Although just a roughly 45 minute excursion including many photos, it was amazing how many things to explore were packed into this short walking loop.

Standing in front of a cave that lead way back behind the greenery

Looking over a deep rock hole

Walking through a cave tunnel to a lookout point

On the way back we pulled into a parking lot to read a sign, saw the words lookout trail, and decided to jog the short trail before the sun set. Through a short trail in the forest, up a bunch of steps, and a around a large field, we followed a skinny trail across the hill’s edge to a lookout with a 360 degree view around the local Waitomo area. From the lookout you could see the village as well as surrounding mountains and landscapes. It was definitely a great way to sight see Waitomo!

Town of Waitomo from lookout point

Somewhere Only We Know

Milan and Trento: Long weekend & Roman holiday

Four days, three trains, too many metro rides later, and we made it back to Rome after a long weekend spent in Milan and Trento. These towns have so much to offer that pictures don’t do them justice, but ill take a shot at explaining them.

After the stress of getting to Termini train station on the day of a public transportation strike, my friends and I made it to Milan a couple hours later, amazed by the quietness of the city compared to Rome. After dropping our stuff at our Airbnb apartment, we headed to the World Expo where we got to explore exhibitions by 140 countries. Each country has a platform to present their ideas about environmental sustainability, innovation, creativity, and offer their signature food and drinks. We ate dinner in China, desert in Italy, drank on a ferris wheel in Holland, watched live music in Germany, and explored many others.

The Expo

Hollands platform

The Tree of Light

The next day we spent touring as much of Milan as we could before we had to catch the train to trento. My boss recommended a Navigli to me, which ended up being one of our favorite parts of the Milan trip. We ate a delicious Milanese meal and then made our way to the metro headed towards the train station.

Duomo

Outside the Sforza Castel

In Trento we arrived at our next airbnb pretty late, and got ready for our full day of hiking on Sunday. We spent 10 hours hiking up the Dolomites (Monte Bondone). Locals live in the mountain range, so there are winding roads running through the trails. At one point, we followed the road and turned down a path with picturesque houses looking down on all of Trento. We sat down, ate the lunch we brought, and talked for a while, just sitting on the ground on the small street. 30 minutes later we woke up- somehow all six of us fell asleep. The best part is how we were woken up; not by a car, but by an old Italian man who lived in one of the houses on that street. He had gone and picked roses for Jessie, Katie, and I. He tiptoed up to us, pointed and said “for the girls”. We adored those flowers, and started to realize how genuinely nice people in Trento are. Nothing against Roma, but there is a different atmosphere in Trento. This was definitely my favorite memory of the trip. Im starting to realize that the memories that I cherish most are the ones where my friends and I are off the beaten path, enjoying each other and taking in the view.

My friends and I before a 10 hour hike up Monte Bondone

House along the side street of our lunch break

The street we napped on with the flower from the local Italian

Palermo, Sicily

In Sicily, I realized how diverse each part of Italy is. Comparing Rome to the weekend trips we have been on, to the island of Sicily, I feel like I have traveled to different countries each time. For me Sicily stood out because of its food. Here I had the best dessert that I have ever eaten: deep fried ricotta cones (cannoli).

View from the balcony of our Airbnb

Cannolis from Cappello

Teatro Massimo

The largest theatre in Italy and the third largest in Europe. This was special for me because of a surprising run in with the Teatro Massimo Ballet Company. As we were on our tour, I heard a piano so I followed the sound and found them practicing. Amazed by their strength and grace, I stood there staring for a while. It felt like a little piece of home right here in Italy.

Teatro Massimo Ballet Company

Sight Seeing:

Cathedral

The church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio. This shows the 100% mosaics walls and ceilings.

Mondello Beach: Tyrrheian Sea

These trips with my friends have given us an unexpected bond. No pictures of these weekend trips could truly do them justice- there are just some things that have to be experienced to be understood. They will always be “somewhere only we know”.

Location: Palermo, Italy; Trento, Italy; Milan, Italy

Where could we possibly be going?

Roadtripping through Salta and Jujuy Provinces

This past long weekend I traveled to Salta and Jujuy provinces in the northeast of Argentina on a trip organized by IES. These provinces are completely different from Buenos Aires and Patagonia. Five hundred years ago, this region was conquered by the Incans of Peru and still retains its Incan influences. This area was very rural and much more of what I expected Latin America to be. Through much of our trip, our bus either was climbing thousands of meters of altitude through Andean mountains or passing through dusty dirt roads in the desert valley. At times, I asked where the hell we could be going. We were always on an endless highway, surrounded by mountains only dotted with cacti. In this very rural area, I pretty much had no Internet access. This trip really demonstrated to me how diverse Argentina is in environment, culture, people, and development. We spent a day in Salta City, and then traveled to Jujuy province for three days, where we visited Humahuaca, Tilcara, las Salinas, and Purmamarca.

The colonial church in Salta City

Incan Mummies

In Salta, we saw a performance of samba music, very different from the tango and guacho folk dancing of Buenos Aires. We also visited the Anthropological Museum of Alta Montaña, which is entirely dedicated to a collection discovered on the Mountain Llullaillaco. An archaeologist who participated in the dig told us all about the collection and the Incan history to better understand the context of the discovery. In the excavation funded by National Geographic, these archaeologists found an offering made to the Incan gods of three children and artifcats for them to carry to their afterlife with the gods: jewelry, tapestries, clothes, statues, and ceramics. The three children were perfectly preserved due to the arid and frozen environment. Only one of the three is exhibited every six months to best preserve them. Because the province of Salta wanted to maintain the collection in Argentina, the province completely funded the construction of this museum.

The mummy we saw was called La Niña del Rayo, the Girl of Lightning, because her face has burn marks due to a lightning strike on the summit of the mountain. She was shown in a case that monitored the color of her clothes and the temperature, and the air pressure of the display case. All of these factors were programed to match the conditions of the mountain where they were buried. The preservation was incredible: her clothes had no holes, nor any fading; her skin looked like that of an alive person; she sat sound asleep in the fetal position where she took her last breath five hundred years ago.Her skull was larger in the back and made her head wide in profile and narrow when facing her. The Incans used to shape the heads of children from important families, and I was able to see the consequences of this ritual before my eyes.

After the museum, we traveled in bus to Jujuy province, where we stayed in Tilcara. All of the places we visited in Jujuy were tiny, dusty towns. We first visited the Seven Colored Hills, near the town of Purmamarca.

Seven Colored Hills at dusk

The next morning we hiked through an area called La Garganta del Diablo, the Throat of the Devil. We hopped across colorful rocks and helped each other cross little streams carefully. The beautiful sight of a small waterfall rewarded us at the end of our hike.

Waterfall on our hike of La Garganta del Diablo

Got my flat lion pic!

Llamas, or “Shamas” if you’re Argentinian

Later that afternoon, we walked with a caravan of llamas through the streets of Tilcara. It was so fun! Our llamas were very nice and did not spit on anyone. They loved taking a ton of selfies with us and tried to eat the hay bales we sat on at the end of our walk. They are really funny creatures: they bah like lambs and run hilariously with their little legs and wide hips.

Llama selfie

Our journey to the Salinas

Our tour guide was great. A local indigenous person, he shared all of his ancestors´ history and culture. We learned how his people worship the PachaMama, their Mother Earth. While we ascended mountains during the trip, he offered us coca leaves, a sacred leaf in Incan culture. It is the plant used to make cocaine, so its stimulant properties help combat altitude sickness. When we traveled to the Salinas, the salt flats, we made a pit stop at the summit of the mountain, at about four thousand meters above sea level. We all picked up a rock from the summit, placed the rock along with our coca leaves on the ground, drenched them with wine and alcohol, and thanked the PachaMama for our safe journey up the mountain. At the summit there were huge piles of rocks and wine bottles because many other people do the same ritual to thank the PachaMama.

Pit stop along our drive up the precordillera

When we arrived to the Salinas, we walked off the dirt road onto the salt flats. The sun reflected off the salt and warmed our frozen bones from the wind that cut across the mountain summit. A local salt miner told us how they extract the salt and showed us the pools they create for the extraction process. After the salt miner´s explanation, my friends and I traversed the salt flats and tried to capture all the funny and cool pictures we could think of with the rainbow colored Andean flag.

Salt from the Salinas

Our attempt at an Urban Outfitters ad

Casually laughing with the Andean flag on the salt flats

Pools made by miners to extract the salt.

Visiting with locals

After our fun at the Salinas, we visited a Frenchman´s bread and breakfast. He shared with us why he moved to this area, cooked an amazing meal with the food he produces on his farm, and showed us his painting studio. He also mentioned his projects within the community: his painting workshops and his promotion of natives´ tourism businesses. The next day, we visited one of these projects: a tiny town called Barrancas where native peoples started their own tourism businesses. To get to this town, we turned off the main road onto a completely dirt road. Our bus soon had to cross a small stream in a dried up river bed. We continued to drive for another half hour in the middle of a desert valley until we reached the town of only five hundred people. In fact, this town only received electricity three years ago. The fridge in the kitchen was shiny new. Their Spanish was a little bit different, more sing-songy, and they added -ito to almost all adjectives. They prepared us a traditional indigenous meal of lamb, shared their traditions and culture, and gave us a tour of rock paintings, ranging from five hundred to four thousand years old. It was amazing to see how this incredibly rural and small village survived in this isolated desert environment.

This trip was incredible and showed me entirely an different part of Argentina. Like the United States, Argentina has diverse landscapes: plains, deserts, tropical rainforests, and even glaciers. But this trip also showed me another cultural identity of Argentina. Everyone in this part of the country seemed of indigenous origin, and on their holiday, May 25, an indigenous performer played his instrument to accompany the speech of a politician in the town square. In Bariloche in Patagonia, native people were completely invisibilized and kept in the poorer parts of town. Even in churches in Jujuy, the image of the Virgin Mary was adapted to include the iconology of the local indigenous religion ━ instead of being slim and womanly, she was in the figure of a triangle to represent the mountain, the PachaMama. Through this trip, I saw an entirely different part of Argentine identity and culture and learned to appreciate a more rural, simpler lifestyle.

Location: Tilcara, Argentina

Best of Morocco pt. 3

Victoria and I dedicated our last two days of Morocco to day trips away from the city of Marrakech.

Day 4 was spent hiking the oasis-like Ourika Valley. Both Victoria and I had barely hiked before (maybe she has some more experience than I do) and quite unsurprisingly, I turned out to be a terrible hiker. I was so bad at following the trails that I had to be babysat all the way up AND down by the guide/riad host (plus random strangers. THANKS EVERYONE who had to pull me up that little cliff! I’m forever grateful) who accompanied us on our hike.

We made stops along the way to the Atlas Mountains: an Argan oil coorperative, a Berber home and one of many wobbly wooden bridges.

Argan oil is a Moroccan specialty and comes in many forms such as extra virgin oil for cooking, mixed with hazelnut paste for dipping bread, scented hair and skin oil, mud facial mask and bar soap. At the Berber home, I saw an elderly lady baking flat bread in a mud oven. The living room was furnished with low tables and countless cushions and carpets and a tea set sat on top of one of the tables.

There was a river running in the valley area which was flanked by semi-open-air restaurants whose tables perch right on the edge of the riverbanks. We had a Berber-style lunch by the river with lots of slow-cooked vegetables, couscous and fresh fruit.

Overall it was a very nice day and I’m pretty sure I’ve got to get a month’s worth of workout done in just one day.

On our last full day in Morocco, we visited Ouarzazate, which has served as a filming location to popular movies and television shows like Mummy, The Gladiator and Game of Thrones. I haven’t seen Game of Thrones yet (don’t panic. I will get to it, eventually) but even without seeing the show I was mesmerized by its magnificence: the tan mud-brick kasbahs and city walls stacked on top of each other, the cloudless azure sky and the lush green of palm trees. Everything about the place was so beautiful and flawless that every single photo I took came out like postcards.

After returning to the riad, we had a huge dinner prepared by the riad staff. The homemade tagine was great but it was way too big for two girls.

We had minor issues with payment thanks to Hotels.com and Babette’s (the French owner of the riad) inflexibility with credit cards. We ended up going to Djemaa El Fna and use a cash withdrawal machine to pay for the bill which caused Victoria’s card to be blocked by the bank. We had to go back to London stuck with the blocked card but with the help of my dorm neighbor, Victoria was able to get her card to work again.

I still miss Morocco to this day. It’s like a homesick except Morocco is not my home. I would totally love to go back again to buy a large earthware tagine for cooking and a soothing glass of fresh mint tea.

For the pictures, please go to http://krazzykitty.tumblr.com/#51147901164.

Location: London, UK

More pictures from South Africa

I have internet so now I want to upload more pictures!

This was one of our first nights in South Africa.

Hiking with Wayne at the Conservation Academy

Location: Grahamstown, South Africa

Arthur’s Pass and Wildfoods

This past weekend I traveled with a group of about 30 kids (along with 3 RA’s) on a weekend trip to Arthur’s Pass and Hokitika for the Wild Food Festival.

Taking off Friday morning we stopped a place or two along the way including Castle Hill, a series of speculated rock formations that are beyond fun to climb all over. There was a group shot taking under them before we were able to explore for a little over an hour, taking pictures and the guys daring each other to climb the highest most impossible rocks and jump from one to another (which was really unsafe) but thankfully no one got hurt.

We then continued to drive through the Southern Alps, still covered in green, and took pictures off all the great rock formations and rivers that cut through the Alps’ valleys.

Once we got into Arthur’s Pass we found our cabins not too far from the center of town, claimed beds and then went off for a hike up to Devil’s Punch Bowl. It wasn’t too hard of a tramp but it leads you up to one of the most fantastic waterfall with a big pool at the bottom that the group did not hesitate to go down the slippery wet path and into the freezing pool. I must say it was completely worth it, even though I had a cold at the time. I discovered it’s really windy and loud near a waterfall so it’s hard to hear people near you but the gest of most conversations is how cold it was. Of course all the guys just dove right in and swam around and I took it a little slower easing into the pool so my legs would numb up but of course with how slippery everything was I ended up falling right in anyway and getting soaking wet.

Saturday was spent in Hokitika or Hoki as the locals call it. There we went to the Wildfoods Festival and spent a few hours looking at all the booths and eating crazy foods. You could get anything from rocky mountain oysters to fresh honey comb there. The weirdest thing I partook in had to be the sheep brains. It was so disgusting that I could only eat a small portion of it, no one could finish more than a small bite, and ended up gagging at least 3 times. It was watery, had the weirdest consistency of anything I’d even eaten and was of course covered in barbeque sauce.

The best food there by far was the shark on a slice of bread with lemon and tartar sauce. It was so good I was ready to go back and get another helping if I hadn’t been saving my hunger for other oddities.

After we left the festival we headed down to the beach and lazed about in the sun till it was time to head back to Arthur’s Pass so we could take off first thing Sunday morning.

Of course one tourist stop was made in the mountains where we took a van group shot before hoping back in and making it back to campus around 1pm in order to recuperate for classes the next day.

Location: Hokitika, NZ

From The City To The Sea

Seeing as it has been about two weeks since arriving in Wellington, and I have not yet ventured to any part of the surrounding landscape that enticed me to come to New Zealand in the first place, I figured that the first days of from my lectures was a good enough place to start exploring. And so, armed with a digital camera, some muesli bars (granola, for you American types) and shoes I would later find out are not, and never claimed to be, waterproof, my international friends and I set out on Wellington’s City to Sea Walkway. The title is a bit misleading, as you primarily stay on the hills surrounding New Zealand’s capital, with the only “city” aspect coming in the form of the bus ride home. Nevertheless, if you like walking (and who doesn’t like a good walk?), this is not a terrible way to spend your day.

We began at 10am, in Wellington’s Botanical Gardens. The trail begins near what the locals refer to as the “Trippy Tree”: an enormous topiary clipped in a circular shape, where the local kids engage in the occasional cigarette or other debaucherous activity. Climbing its thick branches gives one a particularly spectacular view of the city.

The trail snakes around Victoria University’s Kelburn campus, which sits perched on one of the many hills encircling the capital. Despite being only a few minutes walk from the political center of New Zealand, the density of the foliage in the area (locals would call it “the bush”) is curious and amazing. The trail twists in and out of civilization, with some stretches of the path becoming completely encapsulated in what one might mistake for the Amazon. Most of the bush looks fairly comparable to the deciduous forests of central Pennsylvania, however the mixture of lush tropical plants and thicker canopies make for an entirely unique outdoor experience.

After about an hour or so of trekking through the bush, the trail spills out into the beginning of a relentless expanse of hills (While I use the term “hills” throughout, do not be mistaken about their size. At their best, they can reach some of the low-flying clouds commonly found in the valley). Virtually any spot on these landscapes are perfect for picture taking, and I did not take these opportunities for granted.

Once we left the quiet shade of the forest, we became victims to Wellington’s primary adversary: wind. The breezes that roll in from the sea are strong enough to knock you off balance, which is particularly frustrating when you are attempting to climb a staircase with no handrails. Nevertheless, venturing to the top of each hill is, in itself, its own reward.

It was here where we stopped for a quick lunch. If you ever plan to complete the City to Sea trail, you had better bring some sort of meal with you. There are no caf�s or dairies on the way, and believe me when I say you will need the energy.

After a few more hours of traversing the hills, we ended up, rather abruptly, in a quaint neighborhood. It was here that I first got a good look at the architecture that one might consider a bit eccentric. The homes are not expansive in any way, nor do they look particularly expensive. But, unlike the Pleastantvillian, cut-and-paste style housing so pervasive in American suburbia, New Zealand’s architecture seems to be mostly individual. Most had a 70s style split-level or ranch style to them, but every so often there would be a Victorian tower sticking out of an otherwise modern home. There was no sense of standardization among buildings, which was a refreshing change from the uniformity of my hometown.

The neighborhoods led almost to the edge of the island, where treacherous-looking rocks meet the ocean. In the distance, the South Island is barely visible, almost as if it was a drawing on a movie backdrop. In fact, almost every landscape we witnessed on the trail seemed unreal. Perhaps the reason for this is that I have never been in a place so naturally beautiful before, unless it has been through the medium of the silver screen. Sitting on the sea’s edge, and later, thanks to the tides, in the caf� by the sea’s edge, was a perfect ending to an exhausting but wholly worthwhile day.

Shortly after taking the picture above, Poseidon decided he preferred my lower half to be a bit damper than it already was.

In the usual fashion, here are a few tips if you feel like walking around New Zealand (or more accurately, when you have to walk around New Zealand. You can’t get out of it.):

1. Shoes. For the love of all that is holy, bring hiking shoes. Ones that are comfortable. I made the 14km walk from the city to the sea in about 3 hours with decent shoes, and a day later, my feet are still sore. It is much more economical to bring shoes to New Zealand instead of buying them here, as any decent pair is going to cost you upwards of $150NZ. I got mine at DSW for $40US. Just bring them yourself.
2. A decent camera. If you have an older one that you’ve been meaning to upgrade, go for it. The landscapes of New Zealand are some of the most breathtaking you will ever see, and a high quality camera will do them justice. Mine is a Sony Cybershot DSC-W570, which takes incredible panoramic shots and HD video, not to mention some of the best image stabilization I’ve seen on a budget point-and-shoot. It was only about $150 as well, and is the perfect tool for making an amateur photographer’s shots look exceptional.
3. A comfortable backpack with plenty of pouches. A bulky, amorphous bag can ruin even the shortest of walks, and not having one is definitely a mistake. My bag is small and loose, so most of my food and things were all mashed together. A light bag with compartments for a water bottle, food, natural souvenirs (I spent a good hour searching both the bush and the shore for shells, fossils, leaves, and all other assortments of special finds) will prevent everything from getting everything else dirty. If you want a lot of hydration for a long hike (or if you want to inconspicuously get drunk in a public place), a camelback would not be a terrible purchase.
4. A light, well insulated jacket. Many of my friends brought winter jackets, which seems a bit like overkill. They’re bulky, stuffy and a hassle to store when not being worn. I unfortunately did not bring any jacket (mine got ruined a few days before I had to leave), instead opting for a few pullovers. These work alright, but a small zippered jacket would be much more convenient.

Goodbye for now!

Location: Wellington, New Zealand

Cuetzalan: The Final Countdown

Our final trip together as a group was this weekend (que triste), and even though Cuetzalan is a tiny little town way up in the mountains, we certainly made an adventure out of it. It was beautiful, and it was probably my favorite trip of the entire program.

Our first stop, however, was the highlight of all highlights. Since the early years of the Puebla Mexico study abroad program, Penn State has been helping out a growing school in a teeny, tiny rural village called Yohualichan. We were able to give the Escuela Secundaria (essentially a middle school) a nice donation, and our group raised money and bought food, amenities, and sports supplies to bring for the kids. Seeing their smiles when we arrived was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The teachers and caretakers there really do a great job at making education a priority for these kids, who live in rural and indigenous areas. Not all of them even spoke Spanish too well; Nahuatl, the native language, was more common.

We got to eat a typical lunch (burgers and fries!), play school games with the kids, and we even had a few early matches of US vs. Mexico. The kids were amazing at futbol, so it wasn’t too surprising that we met the same fate as our professional soccer counterparts. We’re hoping we’ll be able to continue helping out the Escuela Secundaria in the future.

Afterwards, we got to visit the village church and our final archaeological site– Totonac ruins!

Saturday was essentially a free day, and almost the entire group decided to go extreme and visit the nearby waterfalls and caves (photo thanks to Rhianna and Bill!). We got to swim in freezing waterfall pools, hike up and down mountains (sliding at some points), and clamber way down below the surface. Most of it in the rain. It was scary at some points but all around an incredibly fun day! And, of course, we got back in time to watch some of the actual US vs. Mexico match.

On Sunday, the center of the town was filled with people thanks to the weekly market that takes place. There were crafts, food, toys, clothes, shoes–everything! It was a sight to see. We also got to witness a mass in the church which was unlike any church service I’ve been to before. The people there managed to incorporate indigenous rituals into the Catholic system. Afterwards, we also got to see Voladores de Papantla! This time, the tree was a LOT bigger than the one in Cholula, and I got to be a lot closer. It was breathtaking to watch!

I’ve got a few more posts I want to churn out before I head home, but it’s getting down to the wire. I can’t believe I leave in three days. It’s going to be devastating and comforting at the same time. Even saying goodbye to our amazing bus driver, Orlando, got a bit sentimental. He was a complete boss– I would never be able to drive our giant Mextur bus on these crazy roads! It really is the beginning of the end, but Cuetzalan was a perfect finish.

Location: Cuetzalan, Mexico

18 km later: Days 12 and 13, 5/21-5/22 — Lykia

Tlos

Our first stop after our hour and a half ride into the mountains was to the site the Hittites called Tlawa and the Romans Tlos. It is being excavated by the Med University in Antalya, and has been excavated since 1838. It is on the eastern side of the Xanthos Valley and had connections with that city. It was founded around the 12^th Century BCE and then conquered by the Persians in the 5^th Century BCE. It had a population of around 6,000 to 6,500 and was the religious center of the 6 Lykian cities.

The first part of Tlos we visited was the Stadium, Acropolis and the surrounding necropolis. The Stadium had a pool sepina and fountains instead of a line or monuments down the middle. The water filling these came from a spring on White Mountain, which is part of the Taurus Mountains. The Necropolis showcased the 3 burial styles – pigeon-hole, house, and temple. From the Acropolis we could see the entire Xanthos Valley and the Ottoman Castle built in the 19^th Century by Canle (Bloody) Ali, who killed over 5,000 people during his reign.

We learned here that the city claimed to be the birthplace of Bellerophontos, a hero who killed the Chimera (lion, serpent, and goat) and then rode Pegasus to try to reach the gods and was killed for his insolence. A new tomb with art depicting this event is said to be his tomb.

Our hike began here, and we walked over to the Roman Baths and Sauna. The Baths had 7 doors and the Sauna 3, and both were recovered after 2 years of heavy growth removal. The Theatre had been decimated by an earthquake. It was built by the Romans, indicated by the flatness and the stage. It could seat 7,000 and due to little looting, the seats were very well preserved and showed their decorations beautifully. We hiked 9 km or almost 6 miles to a mosque in a little village before being bused to Xanthos.

Xanthos

When we got to Xanthos we immediately went through the necropolis to the Theatre. Michelle told us that Xanthos was the capital of Lykia and was founded by Sarpedon and Lycsus. It was the home of a proud, independent, rough people that were conquered in name only. The Persians (according to Herodotus) conquered all of Asia Minor in 540 BCE. The warriors of Xanthos fought one battle, lost, and then gathered all possessions and women and children to burn everything. They battled and lost again, so they committed a mass suicide. 80 families not present then formed the Dynas family and became governors of the area. In 334 BCE Alexander the Great conquered the area. Since the Persians were heavy-handed, the people of Xanthos liked him. In 40 BCE Brutus, one of the killers of Julius Caesar, conquered Xanthos, and the people committed mass suicide again. Augustus freed them. During Byzantine rule a bishop was located here, and it was conquered later on by nomadic Turks. It was “rediscovered” in 1838 by Charles Fellow who took the biggest monuments to the British Museum and left terrible records. The French have excavated here since 1951.

All of the Lykian Tombs in the necropolis nearby are copies of the originals. Ancestor worship had strong identity ties with the people of Xanthos, and this is indicated by the fact that the necropolis is inside the city. The three types of tombs depended on social status. Pigeon-hole tombs were built into the sides of mountains and were for the poor people; house-cut tombs were also built into cliffs and had wood house facades on the outside of it; temple-cut had pillars. All were built during the Dynas rule. The Cariga tomb was the smaller house-cut tomb and the Harpies (or sirens) tomb was the larger house-cut tomb. The Obelisk or Inscribed Pillar was built by a brother and war reliefs and the Lykian language on it, but it was also taken. The largest tomb was at the entrance and called the Nere tomb for Erbina Dynas. It was Greek with Lykian pillars and had reliefs of hunting, dining, and nymphs. The region overall had pressure from the Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Lykian when it came to architecture.

This site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Letoon

This was the sanctuary of Leto and a sacred cult center to Leto, Apollo, and Artemis built around the 7^th Century BCE. It was a site that showed the matrilineal society of the Lykian League (the first recorded democracy) with people taking their mother’s last name and men moving in with the bride’s family.

There are three temples: the biggest is Leto’s, the smallest in Artemis’. Leto’s is the biggest and best preserved made of limestone and featuring sculptures and Ionic columns. Apollo’s temple was Doric and had a reconstructed floor mosaic featuring the sun, a bow and arrow, and a lyre. Artemis’ temple had a sign next to it in French proclaiming what it was and had major stonework. There was also a nifeum, a temple to the nymphs now emerced in water and filled with frogs that are said to be shepherds that Leto cursed. The Basilica was built in the 6^th Century CE by a brotherhood of monks and featured mosaics that are no longer seen. The theatre was used for religious performances and featured 16 masks.

The myth behind Letoon was written down by Ovid, a Latin writer. The nymph Leto, daughter of 2 Titans, slept with Zeus, the King of the Gods, and became pregnant with twins Apollo and Artemis. Hera, enraged by the adultery of her husband, forbids Leto from giving birth anywhere on Earth. Leto found Delos, a floating island, and gave birth to Apollo between a tree and a mountain, but only after the goddess of birthing, Ilithiya, was returned to Earth and Artemis assisted in helping her mother give birth to her brother Apollo before her.

The excavations at the UNESCO site began in 1962 by the French until now. In 2002 they did sounding around the area and found Byzantine buildings; in 2005, 95% of the wall of Leto’s temple was revealed; in 2004 and 2006 they did restorations on all of the temples.

Overall for Day 1 of Hiking

The hike today was very invigorating, if difficult due to me being out of shape. I gained 3 blisters for it, but I still enjoyed the scenery, though I did not enjoy Ryan’s whining while we waited for Ann, Kristen, and Shane to be found.

All of the sites were very beautiful and unique. Tlos had great cliff tombs that I wish I could have gone into; Xanthos had huge tombs and monuments and I wish I could have spent more time exploring the main site; Letoon had a great myth behind it and beautiful temples. The day was very tiring but filled with gorgeous sights and sites.

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We hiked roughly 8-9 miles today on the Lykian Trail with another tour guide. Our hike along the aqueduct – and then finally getting to see it – was spectacular. The view as we circled the valley below us in the hills above it was unparalleled by the farmland and mountain scenery we saw. About half way there we reached the aqueduct, and against our guides’ advice Emily and Ryan climbed it. As fun as it would have been, the stability of the structure was unknown, and they both got in trouble for it. We continued on into rougher territory, and this is when I moved to the back. I wanted to stay as up front as possible, but yesterday had pushed me greatly, so I went into the middle and held conversations with my fellow students there.

When we got to Patara, we learned that it was the 2^nd capital of the Lykian League and the document center of it. It had 2 votes, was mentioned in the Hittite annuals, and was near a river. It was another Mediterranean Turtle Protection site like Caunos and has one of the most beautiful beaches in Turkey. It is also the birthplace of Saint Nicholas (300 AD), the patron saint of children, sailors, and scholars. Alexander the Great helped build its main harbor, and most of the excavations here are from the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

All in all I really enjoyed this hike. It was tough but invigorating, as my 2 extra blisters tell me. I will be sad to leave all of this beautiful scenery, but it is time to go home to work on papers.

Facts of the day:

The Persian General’s name is Harpados, and the back of a temple is the pisdadamos.

All in all….

The hiking was a great workout and a good booster for the upcoming summer, where I plan to lose a few pounds packed on during the school year. I loved talking to people, and although our teacher took a spill and busted up the underside of her chin, the hiking was very successful.

Location: Fetiye, Turkey

Children’s Day and Buddha’s Birthday

After we came home from Jeju, we had midterms. Unfortunately while I was trying to study for midterms, I was really sick. So sick I had to go to the hospital. After doing chest x-rays and ruling out tuberculosis (huge relief) they told me I had pneumonia. I got some antibiotics and the doctor told me to sleep as much as possible. So after spending 10 days mostly in the dorms sleeping and trying to get better, I finally ventured out again last weekend!

While I was still taking my medicine, I felt okay enough to go back to the zoo with my friends. We had a pretty interesting ride there, people not feeling well and going home, getting on the wrong trains and off at the wrong subway stations, but eventually we made it there!

We were supposed to go on a ferry ride along the Han River at night, but we took too long getting there, so we just took a walk instead. Not exactly the most successful night, but it was still fun.

After classes last week, a few friends and I went hiking in Seoraksan National Park. Its about 3 hours away from Seoul, and its soooo nice. It was just four of us, but anymore would have been hard to coordinate. We left the dorms at about 6:00 am, and took the bus to the East coast of Korea, got on a city bus, then ended up in the park at about 10:30. When we first got there, we took a cable car to the top of the mountain, unfortunately it was so foggy at the top that we couldn’t see anything. But the background being completely white makes it a little scary I guess.

With the Korean flag at the summit! There was a small gift shop at the top of the mountain and the guy kept trying to get us to buy some kind of gold piece to prove we had been to the top, but instead we just had him take our picture to prove it. After we took the cable car back down, we visited the giant Buddha statue at the park in honor of Buddha’s Birthday (which was May 10). Lots of people were praying and buying prayer candles, so we decided to do it too. We bought a candle and simply asked that we’d be able to meet each other again someday. We all signed it, wrote the date and then lit it in the glass case they display the candles in. I’m not sure what word I’m looking for, but it was something I’ll remember for a long time.

Just so you can get an idea of how tall it really is the glass cases where the candles are is taller than I am! It stands taller than most of the trees there! We followed a path that was supposed to take us to a cave. We were a little disappointed at first, because we were just walking on flat ground for about 2 kilometers, but we finally got to an area that was so pretty. The water was so clear, and the rocks were massive. It was a really breathtaking place.

Most places asked us to stay off the rocks, but we climbed around on the few places that didn’t have any signs asking us not to. It was just so pretty it was hard to stay away. Still a little disappointed that we were walking on a flat path, we walked on the rocks a little more then kept going on the path. Finally we started having to actually hike. When we got to the top of section we used stairs to climb, we got to see the whole valley, which was incredible.

The last .4 km or whatever it was was brutal. It was a direct climb up, and I thought I was going to die a few times, but it was a good hike. The “cave” they were talking about was really just a tiny hole in the side of the mountain where they had 3 more small Buddha statues where people can pray. After such a hard hike up, it was a little bit of a let down, but it was still nice to see. We had planned on camping at the park, but it was raining and all the tents and sleeping bags had been rented out, so instead we came back to Seoul at about 1:00am. It was a long day.

The rest of the weekend we just relaxed and enjoyed our time together. My time here is coming to an end quickly! A little over 5 weeks left until I’m back in State College! Its gonna go fast.

Location: Sokcho, South Korea

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